Cops arrest 6 at Jln Tun Jugah house turned into gambling call centre
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KUCHING (June 17): Police raided a house at Jalan Tun Jugah, which was turned into an illegal online gambling call centre, around 9pm last night.
In a statement today, Kuching police chief ACP Ahsmon Bajah said police arrested five men and one woman, aged between 18 and 23 years, who worked as call centre operators.
“It is believed that this call centre has been operating for two months and is raking in money between RM4,000 and RM5,000 on a daily basis,” said Ahsmon.
He said the raid was carried out based on police intelligence.
All six of the suspects, five of whom were Indonesians, also lived in the house, he said.
Ahsmon said the modus operandi of the online gambling syndicate was to use applications such as WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat, and Facebook to promote their sites and reach out to local gamblers.
“This call centre operates around the clock on two 12-hour shifts,” he added.
During the raid, police seized three computers, five smartphones, the internet router, and other equipment used to run the call centre.
Ahsmon said the case is being investigated under Section 4(1)(g) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953.
The five Indonesian suspects, who failed to furnish valid permits and were in possession of expired passports, will also be investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63.
“I would like to urge the public to come forward with any information that they have on crimes, especially illegal online gambling activities,” added Ahsmon.
